The 2013-14 Warriors — Redefining Success

Albert Einstein once laid out his simple formula for success: “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” When the Warriors escaped the perpetually mediocre clutches of Chris Cohan three seasons ago, they weren’t even playing by the same rules as the NBA’s best — whether on the court or in the front office. Following the franchise’s (and fanbase’s) July 2010 liberation, Joe Lacob and company slowly retooled it to compete in the modern era. Over the next two years, they brought in an NBA legend who personifies winning to ask the hard (and not so hard) questions about all the accumulated failure. They found a rising star in the tightly-knit fraternity of agents and front office figures to help them stockpile talent rather than just sell it off. They took a gamble on an untested coach, hoping that his ability to communicate and motivate would cover for his lack of experience. And on the court, the Warriors started the process of shedding their bad habits and losing ways — the selfish offense, the matador defense, the repetitive disaster of hero ball and the empty victories of hype over substance. The franchise slowly but surely learned the rules of winning basketball. In 2013-14, the Warriors are poised to make the leap from competing with the NBA’s best teams to consistently beating them.

For Warriors fans, irrational off-season exuberance is a way of life (read: necessary coping mechanism). But this summer, it no longer feels so irrational. The team closed out May by giving the Western Conference champion Spurs their toughest test prior to the Finals. Along the way, Stephen Curry appeared to make the jump from “entertaining” to “frightening.” The front office took what should have been a dud of an off-season — no draft pick and two free agents they likely couldn’t afford to retain — and somehow turned it into a historically successful one. NBA all star and all defensive team member Andre Iguodala decided, in his prime, to join the team for less money than others were offering. Bob Myers added three other serviceable, proven NBA veterans to round out the bench despite a limited budget. Early reports have Andrew Bogut claiming that his body feels better than it has in years. Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson ran with the top-tier talent of the National team. Even the summer league squad got in on the winning action.

After decades of summers spent trying to talk myself into believing that the upcoming season would be different from the losing one that came before it, there are no exercises in self-delusion required this year. The Warriors don’t need next season to be radically different from the last one — just a better version of it. A more assertive Curry, a healthier Bogut, a more potent platoon of Lee and Barnes at the power 4, stingier perimeter defense courtesy of Iguodala. Warriors fans no longer need to turn lead into gold. The improvement necessary to turn a very good team into an elite one is simply the expected development — young players mature, injured players get healthy and new additions do what they did for their prior teams. Suddenly, talking about the Warriors in the Western Conference finals isn’t a sign of hard-core abuse of psychotropic drugs. Had the perimeter defense been a bit better on Manu Ginobili, had Klay Thompson made more than 1 out of every 10 of his lay-ups or had Andrew Bogut’s body held out for a few games more, the Warriors could have been there last season.

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So as I ease back into my Warriors blogging routine (I’ve been on the DL for the last two months thanks to day-job demands), I’m confronted with a wonderful new narrative. The question for the 2013-14 Warriors isn’t whether they will be any good, but just how good they’ll be. There are lingering questions, no doubt — Mark Jackson without Michael Malone; the loss of Jarrett Jack’s leadership; David Lee’s evolving role; Klay Thompson’s elusive consistency; everyone’s fragile ankles. But even these uncertainties are trending in the right direction. Jackson should be more confident after holding his own against two legendary coaches during the team’s playoff run. Jack’s leadership helped get the Warriors to the playoffs, but once there it was Curry, Bogut and (surprisingly) Barnes who seemed to set the tone for the team. Lee’s willingness to be a good teammate should allow Jackson to deploy him in the most efficient manner, regardless of what that ends up being. Thompson may not be any more consistent this season, but he doesn’t need to be given the other scorers (Iguodala and an emerging Barnes) who can now take up the slack when he’s cold. The risk of a rolled ankle may always hang over this team as a potential catastrophe, but I’d rather take my chances with an injury-prone team than a no-talent one.

In this new era of Warriors basketball, hyperbole just became a whole lot harder. In a few months, we should have the pleasure of watching the best Warriors team in 35 years. They’ll be lead by one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. Winning only 50 games would be a disappointment. The second round of the playoffs should be a floor, not a ceiling to their ambition. Consistently beating elite teams should no longer be a shock, but an expectation. Warriors fans have been predicting the arrival of a winning team for ages. This year, they may finally get a team that lives up to their endlessly optimistic expectations.

Adam Lauridsen

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Dubcakes – They like all types of music. I heard hip hop and lots of house music.

One of my friends really was into Michael Jackson from when he was in the Jackson 5 until later. Also Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind and Fire come to mind.

Zume

admoney – thanks for the Smart Gilas links. I hear you on the video quality. It is a bit blurry. The emotion over the win is amazing. I also like the new arena – Mall of Asia. Pretty impressive. I used to watch the PBA games at Areneta in Cubao back in the day. Jaworski. I just watched some highlights of his passing game. He holds the PBA record for assists. Now he is a senator.

rigged

I can’t help to butt-in…

Shin Dong Pa of the famed S. Korean b/b team who averages 47 pts a game? There’s no ‘and one’ then but this guy is a master of foul fishing — just in case Shin misses, he goes to free throw line. That’s how he garner his points.

One amazing thing about Shin Dong Pa.

Shin Dong Pa can puff a cigar up in the air before he releases his shots. That how fish for a foul when he goes for a jump shot.

But there is this guy that can stop him cold. Remember Shin’s nemesis?

I’ll leave that for the oldies.

Proof that defense wins games.

But even in basketball, I firmly believe that there’s this thing as ‘contra fellow’. Ask Tonichi Taniguchi about David Regullano

What I’m saying is, playing intelligent defense whether as a team by design or by individual takes some serious thoughts and dedication.

… those were the days.

sartre

Stats via Coach Nick:

“Steph Curry, when defender went under screen, shot 64.4% aFG. Only happened 14% of the time.”

“However, in High PnRs… shot 54.7% aFG when defender went under: 69th %tile”

Dubwoman here. Nice summation, moto– Thanks to Stern’s legacy, the new labor agreement set forth for all franchises will benefit handsomely. I get that.

In the past, the Warriors bench was a total nightmare. With the FO/owners at the helm, they have been successful in a mixture of good/rookie players to compliment this team even deeper for the next season. With the new additions to the core group, hopefully they will still have the same but different chemistry. It’s the same message: Win. Don’t get hurt, limit the minutes of the veteran players and get to the Conference Finals. Come 2014, there will be many first tier players who are going to be FA and if Warriors are successful in their Conference run, the attraction should be a magnet for those players who will seek to play in a Warrior’s uniform. And thanks to our incredible devoted die-hard fan base who are hardcore to the bone (I am one), Warriors benefit regardless. They will follow you no matter where you go. Even if you increase the ticket prices, provide no parking, no problem. Take the bus. But try to tell that to the owners. With the success that the Giants have with ATT park and past Championships runs -that only fuels the huge desire to be at the center of the world- SF.

Herb Caen’s quote, SF, “The City By the Bay”, “Bagdad by the Bay”, they want the Arena by the Bay. That said, Moto, your phrase “Baby Babylon by the Bay” is totally apt.

They only dream “Big”. San Francisco city lights– having the Dubs home sitting against the backdrop of the shimmering LED lights on the Bay Bridge in night sky is so glamorous and cool. A destination to behold. It’s that simple–to heck with the permit hurdles. Game on. They are playing hardball.

Dubcakes

Moto 2 of 2

If you have followed their quest closely, the details about the arena which is planned for Pier 30/32, Seawall Lot 330 (across from the Pier) is really a massive commercial real estate development to be built not just on the edge of the Bay but out into the Bay on a monumental concrete bay fill of a scale the Bay Area has never seen. What is shocking is The City, the Port and the developer have in promoting this project repudiated our tradition of an open waterfront.

Get control of free public land, develop it, make “points” =millions profit and the public effectively pays off some(alot) and perhaps all of the $400(450?)million Warriors’ franchise cost for the Warriors’ owners. A great deal if you can get the permits. How they are doing is another matter. There are still prolonged negotiations to get it built over the water. BCDC was put in place in Northern California to speak for the Bay, the environment and the public’s birthright to this public trust land regardless of the economic and political pressures brought to bear. The pier sits on Public Trust land.

It is way complicated so my short version as I understand it. Warriors did an “end-run #1” in Democracy by trying to bypass the opposition by going to Sacramento and introducing AB1273….now AB127 has an amended version. End run #2 is that they feel they should have a special law to exempt them from the BCDC & Natural Resources Subcommittee – stupefying. No question it’s a busy time in Sacramento as they want to get the Appropriations Committee to take the Bill to the Senate floor that it meets Trust Use regulation right now before the EIR. Imagine that. Definitely exciting to see which way it plays out. Baby Bablyon just have to wait.

“Sir Paul McCartney has tossed up the possibility of headlining one last concert at Candlestick Park – where the Beatles played their final gig for a paying crowd in 1966 – before the stadium’s date with the wrecking ball.

(806) Dubwoman, you are the sunshine of this blog. there was a vintage era ‘Saturday Night Live’ with stevie w. as the featured guest and he spoofed himself, enacting an alternative world in which he fails to write his original ‘sunshine’ because getting stuck on ‘you are my sunshine’ created a block.

it’s very good to know that you can see through the maneuvers, marketing, and p.r./hype of the Pave the Bay arena project. sadly predictable, that the lacobites would find SF politicos (must hope that the opposing politicos neutralize them) to back the scheme and promise subsidies, because they yearn to extract revenue for the city and their faction from property the city doesn’t own.

the Bay would be already filled over, displaced by miles of generic cheap development, if the towns along its shoreline were permitted to expand into the water. any fancy design they come up with for their performance venue, hotels, retail mall could never erase the pollution and congestion they’d inflict, nor improve over what we have now, the vista of open water. you can understand that as long as the Profit Joseph defines his ownership in terms of that project, his team will never have my support.

strummer

speaking of stevie, he was in the movie i just saw, about back-up singers: 20 Feet From Stardom. it was excellent, especially for those of us who love r&b from the 60s/70s. if you do as i do, hurry to the theater to see it, as it won’t be playing on a big screen much longer…

As a fellow fan of 60′s R&B, I suggest you watch “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”. A wonderful movie about the Funk Brothers, who were backup musicians for many of the Motown stars but never received much acclaim for their work. Listen to them here:

el t, you’ll love this site then:http://dereksdaily45.blogspot.com
he collects 45s from artists of that genre who didn’t make it or don’t have many discs to their credit and some are absolutely top notch gems.
downloads are free, though the quality of the sound isn’t always the best with scratches or pops here and there on some, but certainly not all.
the occasional garage band sound is interspersed as well, though 90% is 60s r&b and great -unheard of to me- stuff. enjoy.

El Topo

strummer,

Thanks for the link. Been listening some and will do more of that later. Good stuff by musicians and singers I never heard of.

jsl

gmoney: Niners dumped Jenkins this morning, finally. Kid just had no heart. Wouldn’t go over the middle. Couldn’t separate. Great talent wasted — and a good learning lesson for Baalke.

KC took his salary off our hands for another, lesser receiver bust.

Zume

ET – wow, Thanks for the link on the Temptations singing “My Girl”. Love the 60′s R/B as well. I need to hunt down the movie. Did anyone see Cadillac Records. I have wanted to watch that one as well. Is it any good?

bryhsiao

Curry not only is working on his skills but also his dunking skills.
Impressive.

this kid knows how to use his pumpfake unlike our previous SF DW.
very excited to see him excel more this coming year.

This kid needs to start.
Klay needs to become that super sub at SG/SF spot since he is accustomed to these 2 spots now.
Klay should get 15mins at SG/15mins at SF anyway.
but I am afraid MJack may like Splash back court too much to not start Klay.
but as long as all 3 get a healthy 30+ mins on the court, we should be good.

Just watched the video of the Bogut season highlights. Thanks! Wowza!
What a beast. Such passion. So physcial. So tough. Goosebumps as big as mallomars! Love the passing clips. If only his baby hook was more reliable and he had some of McHale’s footwork in the paint, he would be more of an offensive force. One has to think that he will be healthier than he was in the playoffs with all this R&R. Here in the unrealistic confines of W world, there is definite excitement!

dr_john

Just looking at some Curry numbers for, specifically, his time on the court with either Thompson or Jack, but not both.

Curry’s usage and shots per minute were actually slightly higher with Jack than Thompson, but his shooting percentages and points per shot were significantly lower with Jack.

When all 3 were in the game together, Curry’s usage, fg% and pps were only slightly down, but still much better than just with Jack.

Curry’s highest usage and lowest production by far were when neither Jack or Thompson played.

So I don’t think Curry’s numbers are going to be adversely affected by the departure of Jarrett Jack.

The question becomes: how will his offense be affected by the presence of Andre Iguodala, comparatively if you wish.

I’m an optimist. It’s not that Igoudala assists more, he doesn’t. But he sees the floor differently than Jack. He’s taller, and he’s going to find Curry to his taste, I think.

rigged

@818 Thnx much.

imho, if MJax would do the same Coaching (usage) on Bogut this season, Dubs fan would see games they’ve never seen before.

Bogut doesn’t need over 28min per game to dominate AND we have capable subs on the middle — JOneal and FEzeli and the pinch minutes from Speights.

Is it game time yet?

It’s killing me.

believewhat

I know I am in minority but I actually think Barnes off the bench is better for the team more than Klay. Why?

* I think Curry, Klay and Iggy complement each other better than Curry, Barnes and Iggy. Curry+Klay can offset Iggy’s below par 3PT shot.
* Barnes can sub at SF, PF and SG who ever is off on that day.
* Barnes is going to give some minutes at PF, he can do that off the bench going against opposite bench PFs better than starter PFs.
* Barnes has lot of growth and off the bench he has a chance to dominate and learn similar to Kobe Bryant in his 2nd season.
* Barnes is better rebounder than Klay and we would need that rebounding off the bench. I am expecting Barnes to be better rebounder next year based on Jerry West’s comment on Barnes off season work and muscle build up.
* Barnes natural position is at SF same as Iggy.

I do see one advantage of Klay off bench, he can be aggressive on offense like Jarrett Jack. But, more I think Barnes as sophomore should come in as super sub.

Irrespective, I think Barnes will get atleast 32 mins a game next year perhaps even more than Klay, so at the end of the day might not matter but if I have to chose, I will chose Barnes off the bench.

bryhsiao

Dr John@825

very interesting angle on Jack’s impact of Curry’s game.

This is worthy of repeating that I agree with completely.

“So I don’t think Curry’s numbers are going to be adversely affected by the departure of Jarrett Jack.

The question becomes: how will his offense be affected by the presence of Andre Iguodala, comparatively if you wish.”

I actually think Curry’s assists will go up since Jack was never a finisher/slasher off the ball, but Dre is exactly that. And Curry gets to handle the ball more.

Also Curry doesn’t have to guard SG/SF often now that Curry+Jack+Klay trio wont be a constant 30mins every game anymore. Curry should be able to be more fresh when we need him the most (2nd half of the game)

Zume

Thanks for the links Dubcake!

willow

In defense of JJ, the coaching staff often put him on the floor with limited offensive players (Green, Ezeli, Biedrens, Bazemore etc.) and it appeared they had never even run a play together. As such, it was a self fullfilling result that JJ would end up with the ball and the shot clock running down and he would have to try and create something on his own. A lot of that is on the coaching staff in my opinion. The second unit is so much stronger this year offensively that there would be no significant need for Jack to play iso ball on that unit.

A lot of people appear to be down on Barnes’ passing ability (or at least potential). I can recall a few very nice interior passes that Barnes made last season that caused me to believe he has more than adequate court vision and passing ability. I expect that this is another area in which his game will grow.

RickP

Although I’m confident that nbf will later explain to us all why the UN’s international panel of scientists (IPCC) is wrong, and the information he invents is right … you can read the panel’s findings for yourself.

I’ve had trouble with posting links before. So I took out the “h” at the beginning of the url.

sartre

@dr_john, thanks for those numbers. I was going to use nbawow to ask the same questions and you’ve saved me the time. They certainly fit my own narrative. I’ve salivated over the prospect of a Curry-Iguodala backcourt over the past few seasons (since a Monta-Iguodala trade was rumored) and the loss of Jack’s strengths seem an acceptable sacrifice to see it realized.

@believewhat, I tend to think of Iguodala’s natural position as SG not SF. His WP48 is higher as a SG than SF presumably because his length is more a factor in the former role. It is also worth noting that he is an above league average rebounder for his position at SG but below average as a SF. From a rebounding perspective Iguodala + Barnes gives the Dubs a plus rebounding rate SG and an average rebounding rate SF whereas Thompson + Iguodala give them average and below average rebounders at the positions.

“Having two white members (Cropper and Dunn), Booker T. & the M.G.’s was one of the first racially integrated rock groups, at a time when soul music, and the Memphis music scene in particular, were generally considered the preserve of black culture.”
- wikipedia

Iggy’s floor game to me suggests SF position more than SG. If any, Iggy is conservative in shooting make him more suitable at SF. At SG, we would want someone very aggressive and looking to score all the time(no, not like Monta), IMHO.

There was slightly different debate on Wade Vs Iggy in this article written over last summer. Interesting read…

I don’t think you can claim minority rights yet. I just think we are going to have to see how Jackson adjusts and how much experimentation/flexibility he allows himself for the first month or more.

I remember that the dubs were in exactly the same spot last year. I had projected Rush would get minutes at both SG and SF and would/should have more per game than either Klay or Harrison. Well, injury changed that, quickly.

I’m not going to stake out a position unless it is that, in this SG/SF rotation, Iguodala will play more minutes on average per game than Thompson or Barnes.

Bazemore will get a chance. Nedovic will get a chance. Barnes will get some minutes at PF.

The only dubs who will be disappointed will probably be the ones who don’t perform well. And I think that, unless they sign a vet like Chris Wilcox, they can carry Kuzmic and start to ease his transition with the d-League and a few spot minutes now and then.

dr_john

b’what

And since that article, Wade had a better offensive year than Iguodala (last year).

But the impact on defense? On a team without Lebron James or Chris Bosh, Iguodala had just about as large an impact on his team’s point differential. Despite some drop off.

It is a very good question: will Iguodala’s production hold, or slide, or recover? It looks like the FO feels pretty strong about this since these will be 4 years of committment, inescapable if he falls off, but very rewarding at anything like what he’s done in the previous 4 years.

Can’t wait for that first month.

sartre

dr_john, using a Spanish-English translator it seems that the Dubs need to spend $800,000 euros to buy out Kuzmic and that the Spanish club is still awaiting resolution on the situation. Kuzmic has stated that he is solely focused on rehabilitating his right ankle and that he would be ready for either outcome of the negotiations. I like either Wilcox or Ivan the Terrible as an option should Kuzmic remain in Europe.

believewhat, I’m a fan of putting your best player at each position in the starter role and Iguodala has been a much more productive player at SG than Thompson because of his special all-round game. Thompson helps stretch the floor for Curry but Iguodala’s TS% (despite relatively poor 3P and FT shooting) is not far removed from Thompson’s. As dr_john says, we’ll need to see how it plays out and I’m certainly not averse to Thompson starting even though I presently favor Barnes at SF. All three will get plenty of minutes. Maybe it comes down to whether or not to go with two splashers or two slashers.

Believewhat

dr,

Remember how Pippen was effective in portland way past his prime even if his stats suggested otherwise. I expect the same with Iggy. He definitely has 4 years at high level in him even if his scoring will decline.

sartre/dr,

I can’t wait to see how Iggy factor will work and Klay or Barnes as starter is one aspect of it.

I yi yiyi yi

Thx Dubcakes for the Charlie Parker links and I must complement you on most of the music links you have posted.
Stummer thank you for the links as well.
ET you old Hippy, Buffalo Springfield one me favs ( hope your feeling well)

Honorable Moto, Dub, interesting discussion on the proposed new arena.
Was down in the Bay area for a minute to pick up my wife returning from Chonqing and stopped by my good friend, who is the Building official in the building Department. ( sorry he needs to be anonymous) anyway as always I bugged him about any updates on the new arena, and he has been sitting in on port commission’s joint building department discussions on the proposed new arena. He says the opposition is way too strong to ever get the necessary permits, let alone the ever increasing cost now estimated by my buddy as somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.2 billion, way more than the team is publicly admitting to. What he tells me he has heard that the warriors want to be in SF badly and may reconsider a partnership with the Giants. of course they will not admit this until the pier is officially dead. He tells me to expect some sort of announcement some time in the next two years but probably next year (2014) Art Agnos is the head of the inti-pier crusade and he has a pretty big collision of neighborhood groups with him. I say this pier idea is deader than Nixion…but who knows………………………

1.2 billion is a lot of tickets to Warriors games

Damn I get in only one or two games a year now and if they raise the prices much more it will only NBA league pass…….. sigh

sartre:
Interesting article but factually untrue. I don’t believe Curry and Harden were matched up against eachother. While Harden is a terrific player, he’s a flopper, runs into everyone he can, and gets every bad call. He and Lin are unwatchable in their sole purpose of getting to the line. Article was also written by a Rockets fan so sprinkle it with a bit of bias!

sartre

JanG, I agree that the article is just a fan post (much like the blue man hoop ones). What it offered was another example of Curry’s status in the league as an upcoming star. It didn’t offer deep analysis or breakdown and there was zero mention of defense where both players have been criticized. You’re right that it was wrong of the writer to characterize the two players as going head to head when their teams met last season. I’m happy the Dubs have Curry and like you I prefer watching him. But Harden is a very productive player, not least because of his ability to get to the line.

nelliesbiggestfan

rick

no luck trying to find your link. I’m looking forward to seeing a scientific report that tells us how warm we’re going to get and when that is going to happen along with a list of scientists signing off on those predictions. Please provide a link with the answers to these important questions. In the meantime I guess we’ll wait until all this global cooling ends and then see what happens.

RickP

Barnes scored less than 1 point per shot for last season. He’ll have to improve that.

Iggy, btw, was 1.02 last season. The shot chart shows both frequency and percentage. It looks like Iggy likes to shoot some shots he isn’t very likely to make.

sartre

RickP, the Barnes and Thompson numbers per shot you cite are not supported by nbageek. Barnes averaged 17.4 points on 14.6 FGAs per 48 minutes. Thompson had 22.2 on 19.7 FGAs per 48. Barnes had the slightly higher points per shot rate. Basketball-ref using per 36 minutes also showed the same edge for Barnes. The numbers aren’t surprising because although Klay takes a lot of 3s and hits them efficiently he doesn’t get to the line at the same rate as Barnes and has a lower FG%.

Dub

Moto @810:

Moto, Wow, didn’t expect that coming from you…it’s such a genuinely heart-felt compliment -gosh. Thanks! REALLY amusing story about Stevie Wonder. Spoofing himself…I can just picture him doing that! Thanks for sharing that.

More than any sport, NBA is about glitz and glamour, showtime, living the red carpet lifestyle. I totally agree with you about Profit Joseph (nice ring to that- you come up with the clever names). Everything about him is “big”. He has abundance of money + confidence = big ego.

(Smile to begin) let me acknowledge that I am totally aware of your expansive bball knowledge including politics, music, and yes food (my favorite-yummy). Along with it, a witty sense of humor–okay, just feeding into the frenzy here. No, I still haven’t gone to Mandalay for the Tea Leaf Salad (but I will, NCDub). Perhaps I may need a drink with that salad, to wash it down…it looks so dry

I just want to touch upon the magnitude of the group hired by these two Billionaires. Lacob & Gruber for whom money is no object have hired every potential obstacle-politically speaking- that they think could get in their way. Moto, there has been a political version of shock and awe that is unprecedented in this city. W’s PR group is something else. The maneuvers, marketing, and p.r./hype will stop at nothing until Profit Lacob gets his glitz and pony show on the shores of SF. So, it’s Public Affairs 101.

They have assembled a formidable and unusually deep stable of consultants with extensive ties to city government as they try to get these approvals for a new $1B++ waterfront arena and related development. IMO, the two owners have hired virtually every political consultant in town so the opposition has no one to use!